When there’s no answer to the WHY question

Have you ever faced a situation that made you want to ask why? If you’re like most of us, then the answer is yes. It’s during these times of not understanding what in the world is taking place that we really have to trust God. Our circumstances don’t have to be alike in order for us to experience the same feelings or reactions. Anything that alters our day-to-day life in a negative way can make us want to scream “WHY?!”

When I received the news that my husband and four babies had all been killed in an automobile accident, this was my very first thought: “Lord, where are you?” In truth, it was just another way of saying, “Where did you go and how could you let this happen?” Or “Why?” At that time, I had been living for Jesus for 12 years and I trusted him implicitly. What I thought that meant was trusting that something like this would never happen. However, nothing in the Bible ever told me that bad things couldn’t happen. In fact, scripture says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. The way we overcome situations that appear to have no answer is in Christ. He is the one who overcame the world and only in him can we do the same.

It was in the first hour after receiving the news that God began counseling me regarding this very issue. I truly wish I could convey how surreal it felt, but I don’t have the words to fully explain it. However, God was able to reach me in spite of the nightmare I had stepped into and he can do the very same for you. He began to show me in my peripheral vision a swirling, raging tornado. I immediately understood that the “why’s” and “why me’s” were in that tornado and if I dove off into that mass of chaos, I may never make it back out. So I made a decision right then and said to him, “Alright. I hear you. I won’t ask you why or why me, but you have to help me. Because I can’t do this.” And that is precisely what he did.

Truthfully, I didn’t want a good answer. What I really wanted was for this not to have happened. The why question will never have a good answer – for any us. We live in a fallen world and bad things happen to good people every day. The good news is that this life is not the end. It is only the beginning. If we choose to continue on a path of asking a question that will never have a good answer, then ultimately we will become very angry. That anger will then lead to bitterness and our life will turn into a mass of chaos – just like that tornado.

Over the course of time, the Lord answered many, many questions for me. Some of which I will discuss over the coming months. Because he stopped me from heading down the “why,” “why me” path, I was able to skip the anger phase that society says we have to go through when bad things happen. I never experienced one day of anger, for which I am extremely grateful. I had enough to deal with without adding anger to the mix. The world’s idea of pain and loss are very different from God’s plan for us to heal, recover, and ultimately, overcome.

My hope for you today is that in your loss and pain that does not make sense, you too will choose to walk away from the “why” or “why me” path. Exchange it for another question, “Lord, what next?” I can promise you this: he will be faithful to walk with you down the path of healing, restoration and recovery. This is one step towards living the Kingdom life that Jesus desires for us all.